Many devoutly religious people exhibit closed minds when it comes to discussions of radical life extension and other forward technologies. In their minds, God, Jesus and Satan actually exist and the cycle of birth-life-death for humanity will never change.

It will be interesting to see how religious zealots transform when, by mid-century or sooner, it becomes evident that indefinite lifespan is, or will soon be possible.

Probably the most important role religions provide is “bridging” people into death – enabling them to prepare for, and enter into the hereafter.

What would religions have to offer their congregations if civilization were to eliminate all unwanted deaths?

Stay tuned…

The fundamentalist religious amongst us will always have the *choice* to live and die an un-enhanced archaic life in a degrading and diseased body.  Nobody's forcing anyone to live forever or to live longer.  As long as separation of church and state exists we should be able to keep religion out of this issue as much as possible (hopefully).

Transhumanism probably isn't consistent with any religion. Maybe universism.

Jesus would say: "I never knew you?" then be assimilated.

Jesus has already revealed vulnerability to a Rogue-like mutant:

Luke 8:

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

45"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
     When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."

46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."

47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

I can see the enhanced beings saying something like this to Jesus:

"The future belongs to us, Jesus, not them. They no longer matter."

But I think there is a new political alignment that is shaping out around this stuff.

The article states, "Economic conservatives and libertarians press for "enhancement" as a right—against any regulation of the bio business that would prevent it." The author seems to think that these issues may split the right-of-center coalition between religious conservatives and economic libertarians that has existed for the last forty or so years in many postindustrial countries. I think he's probably right about that.

A similar split has been happening on the left between social libertarians and radical environmentalists.

But there are other factors at work here that might split the left and right in other ways. For example, the expansion of global trade and global immigration has driven the nationalist right together with the labor unions on the left. In the United States health care reform still separates the left from the right. It's hard to tell what new sorts of coalitions will be formed.

If Jesus did come back to find the "Magical Future," I think he would be more concerned about whether life enhancement technologies were provided for society's poorest individuals.

Matthew 25:40 (New International Version)
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Jesus wouldn't say anything? You might ask me why. My answer to everyone would be because Jesus is dead. A human prophet that died many many years ago. No divinity at all. :)

I read George's words with interest because religion and belief is something I take seriously.  First of all, I don't think this Christianity Today Columnist should be seen as the official spokesman for all Christianity, even if he perhaps views it that way. lol  I think it is a twisting of theology to make Christ out to be anti-technology and anti-progress, at least where technological progress helps and does not instead hurt and oppress humanity.  

I was raised Mormon and so wish to bring out some LDS perspectives.  Mormons are often vilified by Evangelicals because they dare to say that all humanity are literally the offspring of God and that in time righteous persons can go on to become gods in their own right; which means creating planets and peopling them.  I remember as a young Mormon missionary in Louisiana having Evangelicals practically foaming at the mouth as they mentioned these things to me. lol

The resurrected Christ is believed to have a body of not "flesh and blood" as we do now, but one of "flesh and bone."  This concept is not fully explained but essentially he is viewed as an immortal, ageless and indestructible being who has reached the pinnacles of mental and physical power.    

A belief unique to Mormons is that every person admitted to God's highest realm (Mormons see Heaven as having a multitude of grades or glories and not just Mormons make it to the top) will be assigned a personal "Urim and Thummim" which will be sort of like a super-powerful mini personal computer.  What I find fascinating about this is that a resurrected person would need such a device to continue the learning process, but they do.  And apparently they will even have password protection.  

Doctrine and Covenants (A Uniquely Mormon Scripture) Section 130:
10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;
11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.

Also, it’s believed that after the Millennial reign of Christ is over and a rebellious “little season” has passed, that the Earth will be “anointed with fire” and “celestialized” or turned into a sphere resembling a giant “sea of glass” which by looking into, people will be able to see past, present and future.  It is the theological equivalent of computronium.  

Doctrine and Covenants 130:
6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth;
7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's.

The Christianity Today writer believed that Christ would rebuke transhumans by saying, "depart from me, I never knew you" because they will have such enhanced and even alien bodies compared to the Homo Sapien standard of today.  But I think he will be much more concerned about their treatment of the poor and weak & the accompanying motives toward the “least of those among you”, as was his focus over two-thousand years ago.  The Jesus of the New Testament hung out with some "unsavory" types in the eyes of public opinion back then which today would cause the Jerry Farwell’s of the world to shake their heads in anger.  Christ challenged humanity to "be ye perfect" and to do "even greater works than I have done" and if we are going to have any real chance of doing quite literally as he asked us, we will have to go beyond our present selves in both mind and body.  I don’t see the returning Christ as a mere “first-century Palestinian” but a being of transcendent power and understanding.  

I have fond memories of attending a science fiction writing seminar at my local college about fifteen years ago, which was hosted by Katherine Rusch.  She was giving out free copies of her Pulphouse magazine which had an excellent story about a mid 21st century university AI who has its personality programmed to be a simulation of Jesus Christ.  The passion play of New Testament events are worked out in the story as students flock to this very wise and compassionate virtual personality, despite angry and threatened leaders, both secular and religious, who demand the termination of the program.  At the end of the story a female student pleads with the Christ simulation to try to save himself before he is wiped, but he tells her to not cry for him because one day he will return in his own way.    

This is my first post here and so hello to everyone.

John Grigg in Arizona

Those are very intersting quotes from the BoM. Could Joseph Smith have been onto something? Or maybe he was just a science fiction writer who was way ahead of his time. 8-)

Another thing that I always thought was interesting was how in the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem was described as having foundations made of precious stone. This always seemed totally crazy to me until I read some transhumanist liturature and science fiction. If you believe in the promise of nanotechnology, then diamond and other precious stone will become common building materials.

Man! Google gets a whiff of the word Jesus and goes crazy with the Christian ads.  Check out the ads in the left column.  Those guys must be quite a lucrative market!

On a freethinkers listserv I was on, someone posted an idea about a T-shirt a while back that I thought was funny.  On the front is the familiar acronym "WWJD?"  One the back it says "You don't know and I don't care."  Ha ha.

If he were really God Incarnate he would already know what was going on and make statements and judgements in accord with the eternal truths and the behavior of the people he saw.
Otherwise he would prove who he was, make some benevolent statements open to interpretation, and disappear again.